Working under compressed air is work within the framework of which employees are exposed to an overpressure of more than 0.1 bar.
When working under compressed air, there are specific health hazards. The Compressed-Air Ordinance is applicable to work being performed under compressed air, as far as this work is being performed professionally by an employer. It is not applicable to work being performed in dive bells without locks and for work being performed by divers.
The Committee for Safety and Health Protection on Construction Sites (Ausschuss für Sicherheit und Gesundheitsschutz auf Baustellen - ASGB) developed the RAB 25 in order to uniformly apply the Compressed-Air Ordinance
The project group "Arbeiten in Druckluft" (working under compressed air) of the ASGB considered the following items particularly:
- admissible operating pressure
- presence of medical personnel
- combination of diving and compressed-air deployments
and reviewed the
- "Richtlinie für das Ausschleusen mit Sauerstoff nach Arbeiten in Druckluft" and
- "Richtlinie über die Voraussetzungen für die Ausstellung eines Befähigungsscheines nach § 18 Abs. 2 der Druckluftverordnung".
The explanations deemed necessary and bearing a connection with the Compressed-Air Ordinance were summarised in the RAB 25 "Arbeiten in Druckluft (Konkretisierungen zur Druckluftverordnung)" (working under compressed air - specifications regarding the Compressed-Air Ordinance), dating from 12 November 2003, and adopted in the ASGB upon consultation.
These RAB 25 consist of three parts:
- recommendations for permitting exceptions pursuant to "§ 12 section 1 DruckLV,
- issuing of a certificate of competence pursuant to § 18 section 2 DruckLV,
- discharge with oxygen upon working under compressed air in combination with § 21 section 1 DruckLV and annex 2 DruckLV,
as well as annexes and an appendix with answers to frequently asked questions regarding the application of the DruckLV.